“But you, O Lord, are compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” - Psalms 86:15
I have two little disciples – one sweet boy and one sweet girl. They have been specially assigned to me. I’m training little hearts today through my every word and deed. Daily I struggle to instruct, nurture, and guide my little disciples with grace and patience. But these little eyes are watching me. How easy it is for me to erupt in frustration when I must repeat a command after multiple attempts, and my own laziness delays a prompt response. These are the moments I must stop, step back, and remember, these are my disciples. This is my assignment: train these little disciples to love and follow Jesus. Can they see Jesus in me?
Jesus is our example. His twelve disciples continually had so little faith in His power, they fought over positions of glory, before abandoning Him altogether in the garden at His deepest hour of need. And yet, Jesus patiently loved, taught, confronted, and exhorted them. He gave three years of unceasing devotion to equip them in turn to go forth and make disciples. Our little disciples are watching us – they need patient instruction even if it has to be repeated on multiple occasions and locations. The same was true of Jesus. He faithfully planted the seeds which in due time following His accession into heaven, it bore much beautiful fruit for the Kingdom.
Patience and humility go hand in hand. The reason I loose my temper is tied to pride. It is when I feel I need to be in control, or things do not go the way I plan or prefer, that my children don’t behave. Confess your weakness and be open and honest before the Lord in repenting it. Fruit is born when we stop and acknowledge our short comings and apologize before our children. That is when they are attracted to such grace and humility in Jesus.
Never cease praying for patience and grace. Pray daily! Pray at the start of each day that God would supply you with divine grace and patience in your mothering. He is faithful to answer and equip you for the task. God gives such supernatural strength to those who ask.
Stop dwelling on the “tough” portions of your day and focus on the beauty around you. Look at the sweet gifts around you and the little blessings that took place during your day. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord! It does wonders to our spirits.
I deserve the wrath of God because of my sin, and yet God extended such patience and forgiveness again and again. Likewise, can I not extend mercy and patience when such love has been lavished on me?
It is said of the Proverbs 31 woman, “When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness (Prov 31:26)”. Is kind speech flowing from my tongue today?
I’m training little hearts today, through my every word and deed.
May they see Christ in me, and by grace be understood.
I can rejoice today because training these little disciples is all apart of that greater beautiful picture of God’s divine grace, pruning, and refining in my heart – equipping me each day to be a better mother tomorrow.
Meditate further: Proverbs 14:29; Ephesians 4:26-27, 31; James 1:19-20; Galatians 5:22; Romans 15:5
Thank you so much for this encouraging post!
This is so encouraging and convicting! I’m going to save this to my favorites and look over it every once and a while
this is such an encouragment to me. sometimes I feel like I am the only one who ever acts …wrong in the face of stress with my kids, and that God must be so frusterated with me (I know I am)…..but that is not our Lord. He is always loving, always gentle, always all the things I know I would like to be, but can’t…..not without Him. Thankyou Jesus for being patient with me. Help me to be who you want me to be so that my babies can see You in me.thanks for this blog it has been amazingly inspirational and is helping me to refocus as a mommie!
Thank you for such a beautiful entry and may He bless you always. Greetings, Liliana
What a blessing to find your website! Praising God for your wonderful advice, not just on healthy cooking but on making Jesus Christ the center of our lives! To Him be the glory forever!
I needed this encouragement! Thank you!
I really needed this.
I struggle every day with my 4 children-to have the patience they need. Too often I fail at that and hurt their hearts. All I can do is apologize and move on….
You are speaking what God is transforming in my heart. I’m so grateful that He is always willing and never ceases to give us what we need! He’s been working on ME lately. I get so caught up in what my children are or are not doing…that I get my focus ALL wrong. I need to be filled and refined in order to give and to lead my 6 precious gifts thru this life. \
I’d love to post a link to this amazing post! If you have any problems with that, please let me know!
Just a note of encouragement – we’ve been through the fire in training one of our children recently, dealing with a lot of rebellion and obstinance, and me not always responding with grace or patience at all. I’ve had to ask the Lord to renew in me a heart of love rather than frustration. But boy, does it pay off! Just the past few days, in particular, we’ve seen a huge shift in attitude and obedience – it has been so sweet. Persevere, ladies, as you are diligent to train and respond to your little ones in consistency and patience, you will reap the “harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11).
Wonderful words for anyone of any age, to stop and listen to , greatgrandmothers on down. Thank you for sharing.
This is awesome. Thank you for sharing the encouraging truth. Motherhood is one of God’s best tools for reminding us how much we need him. Your words echo exactly what God has been showing me as I raise my 3 little lambs. He is so gracious with me…and I realize how much I need to accept His love for me before I can truly extend that to my children. I love your posts…and yes, this is one of the best!!!
Thank you, Lindsay. That was much needed encouragement for me right now!
Thank you so much for this post. I so needed to hear this today! When my older sister had her first child, the Lord showed me this verse to share with her. Since having my son, I find myself continually coming back to this truth.
“He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11) NIV
I am so thankful that He gently leads me as I lead my son. May have the same grace with my child as He has with me!
Beautiful verse and such a good one to meditate on as it relates to our children.
I think this is my favorite post on your blog! I have thought of my 3 children (and 2 more arriving from Haiti later this year, God willing!) as blessings, as gifts (and admittedly, in trying moments, as trials for the formation of my own character!), and have thought of parenting as loving, guiding, instructing etc… but I LOVE using the term disciples/discipling! It’s amazing how a different word can highlight other facets of what it means to raise our children.
Thanks for this post!
Ahh…you are so sweet! It was an eye-opening thought to me as well. I was struck by it from Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. Excellent book that I highly recommend discussing this role of raising disciples in our children more extensively.
Just another Thank you. But really, thank you.
This is a good word and something I’ve been needing to remind myself of too lately. Thank you for posting this.
Thank you so much for sharing this inspiration. I really needed this today!
I am a new stay at home mom to my 2 year old daughter, Ella Grace, and new to reading your blog (I LOVE it, by the way). Thanks for this post. It’s very discouraging sometimes when I loose my temper and feel as though my daughter should always know exactly what to do.
Thank you so much for this post. I have two boys almost the same age as yours and this is exactly what I have been struggling with over the last few weeks. What a blessing to be reminded of how to proper approach my children. What a sweet reminder. Thank you for being willing to share truth that brings such glory to our God!
Beautiful post! So very true….my impatience and laziness remind me daily of my need for a savior. I cannot do this mothering thing on my own. Each child I birth…going on #6 in December, helps keep me grounded in my utter dependency on him. On my knees is where parenting keeps me, and on my knees is the BEST place I could be. On my blog I try to look toward the positive side of all aspects of life….especially parenting. When I look at the positive in each day it helps me keep a proper perspective on things.
Thank you! There are days that I feel so defeated! I have 2 children with ADHD and some days I find it very hard to show the grace and patience that I know I should. I am not glad that others struggle too but I am glad to know that I am not alone. Continuing to pray HOURLY!
Thanks again!
Amen! Thank you for a great post. I have three little (teenage) disciples. It’s a challenge but they are a blessing and some of God’s beautiful creations.
Nancy
Thank you so much for posting this. I really needed to read this today – yesterday I was NOT a good example. Thankfully we get to begin a new day today! What a wonderful way to start the day.
Thanks again!
Awesome post!
Thank you for sharing! Needed to read this today..
Thank you for the reminder. I already need it and I only have a 4 month old. I can only imagine how much more difficult it must get. Every stage has it’s challenges, but oh how I hope my children love the Lord.